It is a tragedy that as the whole panoply of Biblical prophecy spreads out before us in the last days and is increasingly fulfilled in an accelerating way even many Christians seem unable to relate what is happening to their Bibles.
Tragically the Bible is not taken literally and thus there is little understanding of the lateness of the hour.
Without an understanding of God’s word how can we possibly interpret what is happening in the Arab world? Whilst we cannot fill in all the details we can at least see that the scriptures have much to say about these nations in the last days.
Egypt is a case in point. Israel is taking some comfort in the Egyptian military ruler’s decision to rewrite the country’s constitution, a move that will strip much of the power of the Egyptian presidency. This decision tends to confirm the view of many sceptics that the deposing of Hosni Mubarak was more a military coup than a revolution! It was the Egyptian army that played a key roll in the uprising, siding with the people against the regime. It was again the army who intervened in the middle of a presidential election this week an election that would have delivered control to the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi. The military dissolved parliament and declared one third of its MPs were elected illegally.
The crux of this is that with the likelihood of a Muslim Brotherhood president the military were not prepared to accept a democratically elected government with the existing presidential powers and thus stripped the incoming president of much of his authority. Their fears are now realised as Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood candidate, has been declared the winner!
Israel was struck by dozens of rockets last Friday and Israeli sources said this was at the incitement of the Brotherhood.
Ever since the end of the Mubarak era there have been threats against Israel; to tear up the peace treaty, cancel gas contracts (the pipeline has been blown up 14 times since the revolution), there have also been cross-border attacks and the Sinai has been used as a staging ground for terrorism.
It’s not yet clear whether the military have fended off the Muslim Brotherhood or whether the Brotherhood will challenge the army.
One worry is that if Egypt opened its border with Gaza Hamas would be able to get hold of state-of-the art weaponry!
Thus Israel takes comfort in the partial military takeover if it reins in the Muslims, but this is an unfolding situation. Watch this space and read Isaiah 19 and Isaiah 27v12-13 with Psalm 83.
Needless to say the Brotherhood victory has been warmly welcomed by President Obama and William Hague – par for the course!
Syria The fulfilment of Isaiah 17v1-3 could happen at any moment. There seems no end to the problems there and the increasing involvement of the Russians who have sent elite paratroopers to the area is a serious threat. They purport to be there to defend the Russian technicians who are at present in Tartus, now a significant Russian naval base, but their presence may be more sinister. Are they there to discourage NATO involvement? A ship carrying attack helicopters has returned to Russia from Scottish waters after protests but Russia has announced it will dock at Murmansk and be reflagged before sailing to Syria.
What will happen if NATO does send troops?
Russia, Turkey, Iran and Libya Could this presage Ezekiel Chapters 38/39? Russia, Turkey, Iran and Libya are all mentioned here and a study of all the ancient names in these chapters in relation to their current territories is illuminating. The only conclusion from a study of these two chapters is that the battle described will take place at the beginning of the tribulation; hence the rapture of the church must be imminent if these future events are casting their shadow before.
Saudi Arabia Is becoming heavily involved in Syria, supplying arms to the rebels via Turkey and a study of Isaiah 21v13-17 may be relevant.
Iraq Babylon has been rebuilt by Sadam Hussein but is now reported to be being used by America as a huge communications centre from where it is possible to direct America’s Middle East activities and more importantly control oil! The writer was invited to visit there just prior to the Gulf war but was glad he declined as many visitors were captured for use as human shields! Read Jeremiah 50v35 & 39 but note Revelation 18v2-5 remembering that Northern Iraq, which was part of Assyria has a very different future. Isaiah 19v24-25.
Lebanon The Syrian problems have spilled into Lebanon but it is interesting to consider Zechariah 10v9-10 and also note that Israel will one day have all the land from ‘the river of Egypt to the Euphrates’ Genesis 15v18.
Be good Bereans, study your Bible, one day all these things will be clear in the light of revelation. We fill in too much detail of the overall prophetic map at our peril!
Sudan Israel has a serious problem with refugees who have slipped over its southern border with Egypt. 60,000 from Sudan and Eritrea have currently entered Israel. Some are now returning home after being threatened with arrest. Israel has produced a voluntary resettlement form and those who sign are returned to their countries with a resettlement grant of 1,000 Euros. The burden on the economy caused by the influx is causing alarm and is threatening Israel’s Jewish character.
Germany Only three members of the German football team agreed to visit Auschwitz recently. Their manager described the visit as a ‘fireside talk’! The German word he used ‘Kemin’ can also mean chimney and thus the term suggested the burning of Jews! The German captain said the whole team should have been present. The head of Germany’s Central Council for Jews said the visit was a ‘mockery of the holocaust’!
Gaza President Abbas said ‘The peace process is clinically dead’. Saab Erekat the Palestinian Chief Negotiator is currently in Washington seeking to revive the peace process.
50 rockets struck Israel from Gaza this week, Israel hit back with air strikes. Not surprisingly both BBC and Sky TV mentioned the air strikes but not he rockets! No wonder there is anti Semitism.
Scotland The Church of Scotland continues its hate campaign against Israel. It was asked by a delegate to its assembly to reverse its one sided approach to Israeli and Palestinian perspectives. Rev. Ian Galloway said, ‘There can never be a balanced view between Israel and Palestine’. The Assembly voted overwhelmingly that they were balanced! Anti Semitism is alive and well in the Church of Scotland and we now know that they will not even make pretence of balance. They are blinded by unchristian prejudice.
Settlements Israel has turned a deaf ear to condemnation of settlement building, notably 851 new buildings in existing west Bank settlements. The UN view is that all Judea and Samaria is occupied territory. What else would one expect from this biased organisation controlled by Islamic votes?
There is still time to book on our Israel tour in October. Send today for a brochure. Telephone: David Hoyle 01423 881803
WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.
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